Oil and dust seal for journal boxes



Jan. 18, 1938' A. VIGNE OIL AND DUST SEAL FOR JOURNAL BOXES Filed March20, 1956 FIG.

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Patented Jan. 18, 1938 2,105,871 on. AND DUST SEAL FOR JOURNAL BOXESAlbert Vigne, Webster Groves, Mo., assignor to National Bearing MetalsCorporation, St. Louis, Mo, a corporation of New York Application March20, 1936, Serial No. 69,750

Claims.

rolling stock, in which type of bearing the axle taken on the line 33 ofFigure 2. 5 has a certain amount of both vertical and hori- The journalbox 5 differs from the usual box zontal movement relative to the box. inhaving its sealing channel formed by means The bearings contained inrailway journal of a flanged cover 6 removably secured to the boxes arelubricated by means of waste soaked box by bolts 7. This constructionpermits of oil or free oil carried in the box. A seal and dust grindingor machining the rear face 8 of the box 10 guard is, therefore, requiredto prevent contamito provide a true flat surface for contact with thenation of the lubricant by extraneous matter seal unit hereinafter to bedescribed. The axle which would otherwise enter the box, and to pre- 9projects through openings I ii and it in the vent" leakage of oil withconsequent .failure of rear wall of the box and the cover, respectively.proper lubrication and damage to the rolling These openings areconsiderably larger than the 15 stock. Application of an effective oilseal and axle to permit of the necessary relative movement dust guard torailway axle boxes is rendered difhbetween the box and the axle. Anopening 2% cult because of the necessary relative movement in the coverserves to drain ofi moisture and to between the axle and the box,considerable vertirelieve pressure between the seal unit and the box.cal movement being required to permit the as- Seated against the innerface of the cover is sembly of the grass, wedge, and other component aseal plate it made of some rigid non-abrasive parts of the bearing, inaddition to the necesmetal or compound which will not damage the i!lateral movement. axle when it comes in contact therewith. The

One object of my invention is to provide a seal seal plate is providedwith an opening is for on the axle at the back end of the journal boxpassage of the axle, which opening is preferably which will fit tightlyon the axle and which has slightly elliptical in form to permit greaterhorisumcient elasticity to maintain such tight fit and zontal thanvertical movement of the axle before at the same time permit thenecessary movement it contacts with the plate. Formed integral with ofthe parts without damage to the seal or imor secured to the rear face ofthe seal plate are I s m of Its function; I 1 a pair of lugs M whichengage with slots IS in 30 Another Object f my Invention is to provide athe 'cover plate, which slots form continuations Journal box structureincluding a seal unit movof th opening H. These lugs prevent rotationable on the rear surface of the jou box and of the seal plate and alsoprevent any substangg g gg 'zg gg gg f h we a 5111" tial horizontalmovement of the seal plate relathe box is raised g ggg zg f f f whentive to the box as they flt closely againstthe sides 35 tion ofreplacement of'parts ax e or nspec of the slots. The slots are, however,consider- 1 ably longer than the lugs in order to permit of A further obect of my invention is to form the the necessa ry vertical movement whenthe box seal channel of the box by means of a removable is raised orlowered. to necessary compression to the Sealing device to is a flexiblesealing sheet l6 made of leather or hold it firmly against the back faceof the box other oilproof materiah Formed in the sealing A still furthobject of mymvenfion is to sheet is a central opening for the axle,which provide an. el t or resilient member for opening is of lessdiameter than the axle so that viding the necessary pressure of thesealing unit the inner edge of the Sheet may be bent outward against theface of the box, which member is form a sealing flange l1 contactingwith enclosed and protected by a flexible sheet of theperiphery of theaxle- In Order to hold this material forming the seal both with the axleand flange firmly against the axle and so maintain the box. an oil-tightjoint, I surround the flange-with a In the accompanying drawing, whichill t te contractile member which is preferablya coil one form of oilseal and dust guard made in ac- Sp 0f the garter yp To Prevent cordancewith my invention, together with a placement of the spring it isenclosed in a sack portion of a journal box-and axle to which the I9 offlexible material. This sack isheld in position by an inner retainingring 20 which, to-

My invention relates to oil and dust seals for journal bearings and, inthe specific form shown, is particularly adapted for use in connectionwith that type of journal box employed in railway same is affixed,Figure 1 is a horizontal section,

taken on the line l---! of Figure 2; Figure 2 is a rear elevation, on areduced scale, the axle being in section and half of the cover beingbroken away; and Figure 3 is a vertical section plate. The material ofthe sealing sheet between i the rings 20 and 2| forms an annular pocketin which is positioned an expansion ring 23 of rubber or other elasticmaterial. In its expanded form the thickness of this ring is greaterthan the distance between the rear face 8 of the box and the inner faceof the sealing plate so that it must be compressed when positioned, thusholding the sealing sheet firmly against the finished face 8 of the boxto form a sliding oil-tight joint therewith. As the ring 23 iscompletely enclosed by the sealing sheet and the sealing plate, oil fromthe box cannot come in contact with the ring. In this way thedeleterious efiects of oil on rubber are avoided.

The operation o1 my device is as follows: When the box is jacked up,axle 9 exerts pressure on the flange l1, spring l8, and sack is untilthe sealing plate l2 comes in contact with the axle. This occurs beforesaid parts I1, I 8 and is have reached their elastic limits. A furthermovement of the box upwardly, forces the entire seal limit to slide onthe finished face 8 of the box, during which movement an unbrokensealing Joint is maintained between the box and the unit. The openingsl0 and ii are of such size as-to limit the relative movement of the boxand axle before the seal limit is reached. In the running position, anyhorizontal movement of the axle relative to the box is absorbed by theparts I1,

I8 and IS without disturbing the seal as this movement is limited bycontact of the axle with the edge of the box opening. I

' Having fully 'described my invention, what I claim as new and desireto secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

. 1. In a device of the'class described, a sealing unit for use with ajournal box provided with a channei and also cooperating with an axlepro- Jectinginto said box through an opening 01' such stze as-td permitrelative movement between the axle and box; said unit comprising asealing plate, a flexible sealing sheet contacting with the axlethroughout its periphery to form an oil seal and with a wall of the box,lugs von the sealing plate cooperatingwith a wallor, the channel toprevent rotation of the plate, said lugs permitting relative verticalmovement between the plate and box but preventing substanti'alhorizontal movement between said parts, and an expansion member holdingthe sheet against a wall of a railway bearing; said unit comprising asealing plate provided with an opening for the axle, a flexible sealingsheet contacting with the axle throughout its periphery to form an oilseal, a.

pair of concentric retaining rings clamping said sheet to one side oi!the plate, and an expansion ring of elastic material positioned betweenthe sheet and plate intermediate the retaining rings. 3. In a device ofthe class described, a sealing unit for application to the journal boxand axle of a railway bearing; said unit comprising a sealing plateprovided with an opening for the axle, a flexible sealing sheet, a pairof concentric retaining rings clamping said sheet to one side of theplate, and an expansion ring of elastic material positioned between thesheet and plate intermediate the retaining rings, said sheet extendinginwardly beyond the edge of the axle opening in the plate and providedwith a flange for contact with the periphery of the axle.

4. In a device of the class described, a sealing unit for application tothe journal box and axle of a railway bearing; said unit comprising asealing plate provided with an opening for the axle, a flexible sealingsheet, a pair oi concentric retaining rings clamping said sheet to oneside oi. the plate, an "expansion ring of elastic material positionedbetween the sheet and plate intermediate the retaining rings, said sheetextending inwardly beyond the edge of the axle opening in the plate andprovided with a flange for contact with the periphery of the axle, anannular retaining sack of flexible material held in position by theinner retaining ring, and an annular contractile member within said sackfor holding the flange against the periphery 01' the axle.

5. In a device'of the class described, a sealing unit for application tothe journal box and axle .of a railway bearing, said box being providedwith a sealing channel having outer and inner walls; said unitcomprising a sealing plate provided with an opening for the axle,elastic means carried on one face of said sealing plate for forming anoil-tight Joint with the inner wall 01' the sealing channel, and lugs onthe other side 01 the plate engaging shoulders on the outer wall 01' thechannel to limit the vertical movement oi! the unit relative to the box.

ALBERT VIGNE.

